


Family in Unexpected Places

by lavender_demon (Lady_Lavender)



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Dadgil, Dante and Vergil are both about 19 here, Gen, Spardaverse Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:27:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22525522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Lavender/pseuds/lavender_demon
Summary: For Spardaverse Week on twitterIn another world, Vergil is on the run from a twin that gave into his demon side, trying to protect himself and his infant son, Nero. But meeting a version of Dante that embraced his human half was not what Vergil expected.
Relationships: Dante & Vergil (Devil May Cry)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 238





	Family in Unexpected Places

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaah gosh I've actually had a big AU kind of sitting in the back of my head for a role-reversed Dante and Vergil. Maybe someday I'll go big on writing it, but for now have a snippet of what-might-have-been if the Vergil in that AU managed to escape to somewhere safer.

Vergil knew that Yamato held plenty of secrets, but being able to cut through the fabric of space as easily as it did demonic flesh was a new one. Still, it offered a handy escape from danger for himself and his son. He held the crying infant close to his chest, trying to soothe the child with whispered words that could have been a lullaby, in another life.

Senses reached out, feeling for the familiar — and dangerous — spark of red energy before Vergil relaxed and returned Yamato to its saya so he could hold his son a bit more carefully. "It's alright, Nero. We're safe, for now."

He'd barely been able to find his own son before Dante—

No. Vergil'd had many things taken from him, but here they would be safe… For a time, at least. The air smelled and felt drastically different from where he'd been just moments ago, so it was reassurance that his half-feral twin would take some time to track Vergil and Nero down.

The baby boy quieted down, but was still fussy. His diaper didn't seem to smell, and it was decently warm where they were, so Vergil's next line of thought went to how long it must have been since Nero had eaten. "You're hungry, aren't you? I'll go find you something…"

Smiles did not always come easily to Vergil, but one gentle thumb brushing over a chubby cheek brought a small, sincere one to his lips. He'd lost his mother, and his father, and even the brother Vergil had once known was effectively dead, having given in to his demonic half in order to survive the last eleven years. The small family Vergil had built under a new name like his mother had pleaded of him before rushing to her death… even that was gone, too — at Dante's hands.

So far, Nero was all that was left of family, of human connections. Like Eva before him, Vergil was willing to lay down his life to protect this small, helpless bundle. It was humanity's greatest strength: their love for others, and the lengths they would go to in order to protect each other.

A flash of red splattered across Vergil's demonic senses, and in the space of a single breath he had Nero clutched tight to his chest again, Yamato drawn and pointed in the direction of his cruel twin.

"Looks like we keep having yearly reunions, huh bro? I thought you fell down into Hell. What, you claw your way back out?" It was Dante's voice, and the same taunting tone, but the guns pointed his way were not his brother's style. Nor was the hesitation in actually attacking once Nero started crying again.

"It's been not more than three hours since I saw you last, Dante." As Vergil spoke, he turned to place himself between the threat of bullets and Nero.

More hesitation, and then the guns were holstered behind Dante's back. There was still red across Vergil's senses, but it became a bit more subdued. "Just remembered something Dad mentioned, once. Yamato's so sharp it can cut even the barriers between worlds. He used it to close the smaller gaps between the human and demon ones. Do you remember that?"

Vergil did, though he hadn't thought Yamato quite _that_ powerful, to slice through to an alternate dimension. Could this strange, somewhat-civil version of Dante belong to another universe entirely? It sounded too good to be true. Almost like one of his brother's vicious tricks. "You said I fell. Why would I do that?"

Dante turned around, shrugging as he paced. "Who knows? I've never been able to see what was going on in that head of yours. Raise a demonic tower, try to rip open the border between worlds, and for what? Our father's sword, his power? Didn't make sense." Red paused, flaring bright for a moment that made Vergil tense and crouch into a defensive position. "But neither does seeing you, a year after you fell, trying to protect some kid."

"He is my _son_. And I will not let you hurt him like you've hurt so many others, even if it means my life."

Dante stopped at that, and turned around to cross his arms. "Where did our paths get switched around, Vergil? 'Cause that's definitely not something the brother _I_ know would say."

Red moved closer, but with hands up in a placating gesture. A trick; it _had_ to be. Vergil's demonic instincts flared up in reaction to the threat to his son, and he growled and slashed at this fake display of sincerity.

**Red** splashed across Yamato, but through it Vergil could sense that this was a different shade than the one he knew. Not the red of dried blood and cruelty, but of passion and caring. Yamato knew the taste of his brother's blood and the darkness that lay curled deep within. This was bright, full of light and… _love_.

This was a Dante that had embraced his human half, just as Vergil had. It was not truly his brother in the same way the half-feral monster his twin had become, but Vergil was no stranger to finding family that wasn't necessarily related to him.

Despite the injury, Dante did not press forward and did not retaliate. He merely stayed in place, the wound on his left palm slowly closing as demonic healing kicked in. "… Where were you, on the day Mother died?" Vergil finally asked, trying to bounce Nero in his arms to calm the infant.

"I was inside, kicking shit around 'cause you'd run off to sulk. Mom shoved me in a closet to keep me as safe as she could before going off to find you."

It clicked, then, why this Dante and Vergil's own were so different… And that must mean that this Dante's own brother had turned dangerous. Not half-feral, but cunning and ruthlessly driven for the urge to gain more demonic power, it seemed.

"I had kicked you out of my room, so you went outside to play on your own. Mother found me first and pushed me into the nearest closet and told me to change my name if she did not return."

A heavy pause stretched between them, broken only by Nero's crying before Dante reached a hand out. Not as a threat, but in an open, so very human greeting. "Sounds like we both had shitty bros. Mine's gone, you're on the run from yours, so why don't we team up at least long enough to get that kid of yours looking healthy?"

Vergil stared at the proffered hand, reluctant. But Yamato would not lie to him, not about this. He twirled the slender blade around to let this Dante's bright blood slide off before sheathing it. "His name is Nero. And finding family in unexpected places is nothing new to me anymore. So until and unless we part ways… brothers?" Vergil did not quite grasp this Dante's hand, but extended his own as an offering.

A flash of hurt seemed to flicker across Dante's face, but it was quickly replaced by a wide, genuine smile that Vergil had not seen in years. "Yeah. Brothers."


End file.
